In recent months the graphics card market has undergone a very marked process of normalization that, in general, has put an end to the madness that we were still dragging since the end of 2020, which was mainly caused by the second cryptocurrency market bubble, the COVID pandemic and speculation and resale. However, despite that normalization there are still many graphics cards that are not worth buying.
That’s why I’ve decided to update the guide we published last April, and this time I’ve focused more on models that generally tend to get a lot of attention from consumers and that at first glance might seem like a good buy, but which in fact are quite the oppositeIf these conditions are not met, some models may become a good option. If these conditions are not met, some models may become a good option.
Don’t worry, because I am going to explain in detail everything you need to know to make sure you don’t make a mistake.I am not only going to show you which graphics cards are not worth buying, but I am also going to give you a list of alternatives that would be a good option within their price range, or in a similar range. So, for example, if we move in the mid-range, my goal will be to give you mid-range alternatives, or in the medium-high range, as long as it is worth the difference between the two.
If you have any doubts you can leave them in the comments and I will help you to solve it. Keep in mind that within the new generations of NVIDIA and AMD there are models that slowlyor have been dropping in priceThis has also been fundamental when making decisions and putting on the list a good part of the models that we have selected as options to avoid. Without further ado, I invite you to make yourselves comfortable, and let’s get started.
1.-GeForce RTX 3060
In this case I am referring to the two models that exist today, both the 8 GB, of which there are hardly any units available, and the 12 GB. This is a graphics card designed for 1080p gaming, although it is also capable of running games under 1440p resolution conditions. Its performance level is still good enough to play games with guarantees, but it is no longer a good option because has been displaced by other graphics cards, such as the GeForce RTX 4060.
Some may be thinking that the GeForce RTX 3060 has the advantage of having 12 GB of graphics memory and of being a little cheaper, and it is true, but the difference with the GeForce RTX 4060 if we talk about price is minimal (about 30 euros), and this one is not only more powerful, but it is also much more efficient and offers support for advanced technologies that make a significant difference in many current games.
If we could find it second hand with a very low price it could be an interesting option, but even in this case. it is complicated because we have in the first hand market very interesting alternatives for very little money.The Radeon RX 6650 XT, a graphics card with a price-performance value so good that it even “cannibalizes” its big sister, the Radeon RX 7600, although we will also talk about it later.
Alternatives that are worth it
If we can spend a little more money, the best option is the GeForce RTX 4060which performs up to 16% better in rasterization, has a much lower power consumption and supports Frame Generation. If we do not want to spend more money the ideal option would be the Radeon RX 6650 XT, which performs about 10% better in rasterization and is much cheaper. With both we will be able to play in 1080p with all the guarantees.
2.-GeForce RTX 3080
Don’t get me wrong, the GeForce RTX 3080 is still a real monster at the performance level, but like the previous one it has been clearly outclassed by NVIDIA’s current generation, and its high price, high power consumption and lack of NVIDIA DLSS 3 (Frame Generation Support) mean that it has been left in a complicated position.
All in all, those are the main reasons why it is one of the high-end graphics cards that is no longer worth buying, and we can contextualize it in a very simple way, by comparing it to the GeForce RTX 4070. The latter offers almost identical performance in 1080p and 1440p rasterization, and is only slightly slower in 4K, but in return it is more fairly cheaper (costs 120 euros less), consumes 120 watts less, is much cooler, has 2 GB more graphics memory and is compatible with Frame Generation.
On the AMD side we would also have an interesting alternative, the. Radeon RX 7800 XT, which is slightly more powerful than the GeForce RTX 3080 in rasterization, is more efficient, has 6 GB more graphics memory, and is cheaper (it costs about 150 euros less). With all that I have said I think you can understand why the GeForce RTX 3080 is no longer a good option, at least at the price at which we can find it right now (699 euros). If we find it second hand for less than 500 euros it would be an option to consider.
Alternatives that are worth it
Undoubtedly the best option right now for the balance it offers between consumption, rasterization and ray tracing performance and for its Frame Generation support is. the GeForce RTX 4070especially now that it is available from €579.90. The Radeon RX 7800 XTX would not be a bad alternative now that we can buy it for €549.90, but the former offers superior value and is a better buy.
3.-GeForce RTX 3050
This is a graphics card that has always raised questions, and that’s to be expected. It hasn’t been a bad graphics card per se, it has simply the price at which it came to the market was not adequate.It was too much in step with the GeForce RTX 3060, and also with other models that in rasterization are much more powerful.
Right now, with the evolution that has taken the market and with all that have lowered the price of mid-range graphics cards economic Radeon RX 6000 series, this model has pretty much been left in limbo, and is, on its own merits, another of those graphics cards that we should not buy, as its price-performance value is not good.
It should also be noted that, although it has 8 GB of memory and supports DLSS Super Resolution, in terms of raw power it’s getting a bit old, and in advanced and demanding titles it is no longer able to offer a truly optimal experience in 1080p unless we reduce graphics quality. With other graphics cards in the same price range we can get more performance.and this is the reality that leaves it in a bad place.
Alternatives that are worthwhile
Undoubtedly a good option is the Radeon RX 6650 XT, as we can buy it for only 229.90 euros. This graphics card costs 10 euros more than the cheapest GeForce RTX 3050, and yet performs up to 36% better in games under rasterization. Yes, you read that right, up to 36% more. In Alan Wake 2, for example, with 1080p resolution and ultra quality a GeForce RTX 3050 is around 30 FPS on average, and the Radeon RX 6650 XT reaches 43 FPS on average. If we want to spend less money the best option would be the Radeon RX 6600which performs 21% better and costs only 189.90 euros.
4.-Radeon RX 7600
This graphics card came on the market at a turbulent time, and this allowed it to momentarily become one of the best options price-performance. The joy was short-livedObviously, if I were to analyze it right now, the score would be significantly reduced because the market reality has changed a lot. What can we do, that’s the thing about technology, it’s something living and changing.
The price drop experienced by its direct rivals, such as the GeForce RTX 4060, which is a bit more powerful and efficient, performs better in ray tracing and on top of that has the value that represents the DLSS ecosystem (Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction and Frame Grabbing), has not left it in a good placebut on top of that, to make matters worse, the Radeon RX 6650 XT also puts it in a complicated position.
This graphics card is only slightly slower (about 2%), but is much cheaper.and this makes the Radeon RX 7600 practically meaningless today, at least at its current price. If AMD had used the specialized AI cores that the latter brings to make some difference of interest things could have changed, but it has not been the case, and that is why it is another graphics card that we should not buy.
Worthwhile alternatives
The best option within the same price range is. the GeForce RTX 4060which is slightly more powerful, consumes 50 watts less, performs better in ray tracing and has the advantage of full DLSS 3.5 support, including frame generation. If we are looking for something cheaper, the Radeon RX 6650 XT is the best alternative.It will cost us 60 euros less and we will only lose 2% performance on average.
5.-Radeon RX 6950 XT
The Radeon RX 6950 XT is a graphics card that is on this list with one condition, and that is its retail price. If we can find it for 600 euros it can be an option to take into account, since it offers a rasterization performance similar to that of a GeForce RTX 3090 and therefore surpasses the GeForce RTX 4070, and plays with the advantage of having 16 GB of graphics memory.
However, it should be noted that the Radeon RX 6950 XT loses a lot of ray tracing performance and has a very high power consumption.. This makes it quickly lose value compared to more current models, such as the GeForce RTX 4070 itself, and even compared to current generation AMD models. If it exceeds 600 euros in price it is already difficult to take it into account, and if it exceeds 700 euros, which is normal, it automatically becomes one of those graphics cards that we should not buy.
In raw power it is still a monster, as long as we move in rasterization, but there are much more powerful options on the market for a little more money, and in the end this leaves it in a complicated position even if a priori the price may seem very attractive. We must also take into account that with a GeForce RTX 4070 we would have a more balanced value in every way. at the cost of giving up only 16% raw power in rasterization.
Alternatives that do pay off
If we are looking for something cheaper and more efficient, with much more power in ray tracing and far more advanced technologies the GeForce RTX 4070 is the best alternative. If on the other hand we want something more powerful even if we have to pay a little more than the average price of the Radeon RX 6950 XT (about 700 euros) we have the Radeon RX 7900 XTwhich has 20 GB of graphics memory, performs 14% better in rasterization, holds up much better in ray tracing and costs only 119 euros more.
6.-Radeon RX 6500 XT
Another graphics card that has been lost in Charon’s boat for a long time, and it not only resists to pass to a better life, but it also maintains a price that makes no sense at all. This graphics card offers much lower performance than the Radeon RX 6600, in fact it is comparable to the GeForce GTX 1650 Super, and yet it maintains a very high price, as even on sale it is around 166 euros.
The performance difference between the Radeon RX 6500 XT and the Radeon RX 6600 is huge, yet both are priced very similarly.This makes the first one to be considered not as a bad purchase, but as a graphics card that we should directly avoid, since we will be making one of the worst possible investments in the graphics card market today.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Nothing further, to give you a more accurate idea of the differences between the two I remind you that the Radeon RX 6500 XT is up to 78% slower on average in games under 1080p resolution than the Radeon RX 6600, and yet the price difference between the two is between 20 and 30 euros, approximately, depending on the model we choose. If this does not make it one of those graphics cards that we should not buy, tell me what else you need to value it as such.
Alternatives that are worth it
The Radeon RX 6600 is the best direct alternative, since you can buy for only 23 euros more, and in return it offers a huge performance improvement. This may vary depending on the specific game, but in some cases it almost doubles its performance.and by increasing the resolution to 1440p the average difference becomes even greater.
7.-Intel Arc A750
Another graphics card that has been “condemned” by a price that is has not been adequately adjusted to the reality of the market.. The Intel Arc A750 plays in the league of the GeForce RTX 3060, although it is a bit slower in ray tracing and is still has pending major driver improvements to become a truly competitive option if both options were at the same price.
It should also be kept in mind that for less money we can buy more powerful graphics solutions which are much more mature at the driver level, and which are also more efficient. The best example is the Radeon RX 6650 XT, which is more powerful, more efficient and cheaper than Intel’s solution, and obviously has much more mature drivers.
The only thing that could give some sense to the Intel Arc A750 would be a significant price drop, and by that I mean. It would have to be placed at least in the 180 euro range for it to start deserving some attention. on our part, and for it to stop being considered a bad buy. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon, so you know, it’s likely to remain until the end of its commercial life as another one of those graphics cards we shouldn’t buy.
Alternatives that do pay off
Again, the two best options are the GeForce RTX 4060 if we can spend a little more money and the Radeon RX 6650 XT if we want to spend less. The former is more powerful in both rasterization and ray tracing, and has the advantage of the NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 ecosystem, while the latter is more affordable. Either one is, in its own way, a good buy right now.
Note: This selection contains some links from our affiliates, but none of the products included have been suggested or recommended by them or their manufacturers, but chosen at our own discretion.